No mind games here: Robbie Fleck backs Andy Farrell's bold Springboks claim

A debate raged during the Six Nations over who was truly the number one side, considering Ireland's dominance in their first three matches.

No one got to within 20 points of Farrell's men during the first three rounds before they narrowly succumbed 23-22 to England at Twickenham.

That ended their Grand Slam dreams, but they responded to claim the title with a 17-13 triumph over Scotland.

Ireland's next challenge comes in July when they take on the world champion Boks in a mouth-watering two-Test series in South Africa.

"All you want is an opportunity to put yourself out there against the best and South Africa are 100% the best," Farrell said following their Six Nations triumph.

"We've managed to win one game over there before, so being able to play two games and test ourselves will be great for our development going forward."

Farrell could have been attempting to build the Springboks up to ease the pressure on his side, but Fleck felt that he was just being 'brutally honest'.

"I'm not only a fan of the way Ireland plays, but I am a fan of Farrell. Just his brutal honesty and what you see is what you get," the ex-centre told the Boks Office podcast.

"The way he deals with the media, I don't think he is going to say something that he doesn't necessarily believe in."

Host Hanyani Shimange then questioned whether Ireland's head coach was resorting to 'gamesmanship', but Fleck was adamant in his opinion.

"I think he is being dead honest. He is genuinely saying South Africa is the best. He is saying: 'That is where we want to go to and beat them in their backyard'," he said.

"He is almost stepping up to this challenge and saying: 'I am going to go head-on with the Springboks, and I am not going to play games behind the scenes'.

"I have met him once or twice and he comes across as a genuine guy and he is good at what he does.

"He likes a real challenge, and he is fronting up to that."

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